2017 Reading Challenge

I've been looking for good motivation to blog more often (as it's been a year and 3 days since my last post.) I write a lot for my job, so I think writing for myself has been a bit neglected. But one thing I've found to be true is the more that I read and write, the more I want to read and write, which usually leads to improvement in my writing, which is always good.

So, right around new years, my friend Wes Kinsey posted on Facebook that he was looking for a good reading challenge, and as he received suggestions I received motivation.  With the help of the FB Group he subsequently created and a lot of great suggestions from friends, I came up with a list of books that match up with the prompts.

It is as follows:

1. A Memoir: Talking As Fast As I Can - Lauren Graham
2. A book chosen for its cover: The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart
3. A book from a different genre: The Secret History- Donna Tartt
4. A Biography: Twelve Years a Slave- Solomon Northup
5. A book about history: Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
6. A book targeted to my gender: In the Unlikely Event - Judy Blume
7. A book about theology: The Explicit Gospel - Matt Chandler
8. A children's book: TBD at the Library
9. A book being published in 2017: Exit West- Mohsin Hamid
10. A book over 100 years old: Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
11. A book about a different religion: Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus - Nabeel Qureshi
12. A book by a person of color: Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
13. A book about food: French Kids Eat Everything- Karen LaBillon
14. A book whose main character is different than me: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
15. A book becoming a movie in 2017: Wonder - R.J. Palacio
16. The 1st book in a series I haven't read: A Series of Unfortunate Events- Lemony Snickett
17. A book of poetry or a play: Harry Potter & The Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling
18. A book of short stories or essays: whatever I can find from Wendell Berry or Walker Percy
19. A book by an author I haven't heard of: My Name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok
20. A book recommended by a friend: Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
21. A book recommended by the media: A Partial History of Lost Causes - Jennifer Dubois
22. A book I started but never finished: A Severe Mercy - Sheldon Vanauken
23. A book relating to current events: The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander
24. A book whose title makes me think: The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
25. A book that feeds my wanderlust: TBD at the library
26. A book that I love: A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle (...probably)

Over the course of 2017, I plan to blog about each book as I travel through my list.  I'm sure a few will change as I find what is and isn't available at my local library (which is FANTASTIC, btw) and perhaps I'll even find time to share a few other things throughout the year.  So here's to a2017 full of good books and good thoughts and lots of words... Cheers!

P.S. What am I missing?  If you know of a GREAT book that deserves to be on my list, make your case!  I might be persuaded to add a few!